Cooking up a storm

I love being in the kitchen. I don't care if that makes me sound too old-fashioned because it's the truth. I love cooking and trying / tasting new ideas. Today I tried making steamed clams. I was so excited thinking they would taste similar to their ocean-friend, the lobster. I think they came out looking quite ideal.. until I looked a little closer. Clams look pretty disgusting. I dipped one in butter anyway and placed it on my tongue - it tasted salty and good. I bit into and just couldn't get past the texture. I spit it out and was done. I think I'll stick to the lobster.

I have been making smoothies lately - just simple ones - nothing to write about. So I decided to whip up a yummy veggie dinner tonight to add some "veggie-excitement" into our bellies. I mixed cherry tomatoes, onions, broccoli, summer squash and zucchini with pesto and baked it in the oven. Poured over rice with sweet potato fries.... this was a delicious and healthy dinner!!

I'll be returning to the blender soon... I just need some fresh ideas. I could drink spinach smoothies everyday but that's not very exciting. We'll see what this week brings :-)

Practice makes....

Practice makes... yummy?

I love trying new fruits and veggies in my smoothies! Most of the time it blends tasty, while sometimes it's just plain gross. Today, while at the grocery store I spotted a beautiful organic grapefruit. I thought it looked nice it would therefore taste wonderful. I knew grapefruit was bitter so I paired it with an apple and honey to sweeten it. I honestly don't think anything could make that smoothie NOT taste like crushed medicine you have to chew and swallow. 

I dumped it out and blended a smoothie with what was in the fridge.

Ice

Frozen blueberries

Frozen strawberries

raw spinach

1/4 cup cannellini beans

7 oz Naked Juice Green Machine

Green tea to blend

So good! I cheated with the pre-made Naked juice but made up for it with the beans.

I will start taking pictures... although all my smoothies look similar (the spinach tints it green!)

Hoppy Easter

Hoppy Easter!

Spent a wonderful day with my family and ate an extreme amount of ham and bacon... which was wonderful! Still feeling too full for dinner I made a quick smoothie for the family.

I blended...

Ice

1 pear

3 slices of pineapple 

1 cup frozen peaches

Raw baby spinach

Green tea

This is a very refreshing and thirst-quenching smoothie (I suppose too much ham and bacon can make you VERY thirsty!) - I'll have to remember to make this on hot Summer days!

On a sad note - my daughter's new fish died... already! (I knew I should have got the Petco frequent buyers card... I knew I would be back). So we told our daughter Ruben (the fish) went to the library for the day. After our Easter celebration I went to the pet store to replace him. Since Ruben was a vibrant red color he was hard to replace. I went with a blue fish instead... hoping she would be so happy to see it she wouldn't notice. Again, at checkout I decline the frequent buyers card (strike two...). I get the new fish in the car and tell our daughter that I just picked up Ruben and he's back to play. Our daughter says "He looks different, Mom." I reply "He does? Hmm... I think he got a makeover. Let's give him a new name for a whole new look. How about Tulip?" Happily, our daughter agreed. I figure I will probably become good acquaintances with the employees at Petco.

Welcome Tulip... please live longer then 24 hours.

Have a wonderful weekend with those you love!

Peachy Keen

OK, so I am playing the busy card again...  creating a backyard, planning for Easter, and taking down everything that reminds me of Winter. Winter wreath on front door - down (replaced my Spring wreath). Garden - raked (and will probably need to be raked 20 more times). Fire place - cleaned...never to be used again (not worth the health risks!).  Daughter's Winter clothes - packed away (daughter's Spring wardrobe - fabulous and ready to wear :-D )

Too busy to get creative but not so busy that I couldn't whip up a smoothie to insure my daughter was drinking her greens and berries.

I blended this simple mix of...

Frozen peaches

Frozen blueberries

Frozen strawberries

raw baby spinach

Sprinkle of wheat germ

Green tea

She drank most of it.... and then wanted to watch her new pet fish "Ruben" swim around and look petrified (I mean we did have our faces 2 inches from the bowl... our cat being one of the faces).

Eat Dirt

Well, I apologize for my lack of blending. We have been very busy working on a big project... a new backyard!! Dirt by the truckloads have been arriving, spread and preparing to become a green lawn! We have big dreams... a plush green lawn to BBQ on, play on, and hopefully house a swing set that will make our daughter never want to come inside. First things first... more dirt. 

I have been blending - just nothing new. Making my favorite recipe and using the large amounts of pineapple that have built up in our fridge. I'm thinking a "dirt" smoothie is in my near future... of course I won't use real dirt (it's much too expensive as we've recently learned) but chocolate!

Redeemed

I felt so bummed about the eggplant disaster that I went out to the store and bought a cookie mix and frosting. Then with the help of my little one we baked something delicious to enjoy... and hopefully the cookies will take away the eggplant taste from her mouth.

Simply Purple. Simply not good.

OK, so today's smoothie features eggplant. I was so excited to make this smoothie because we don't eat eggplant so I love incorporating new foods into our diets! I thought eggplant was bland enough to blend with fruit - making it a perfect ingredient. Well... I stand corrected. I don't like eggplant.

In case you do like eggplant and want to check it out...

Ice

Frozen blackberries

Frozen blueberries

1 Tablespoon honey

1/2 half a raw eggplant

Splash of green tea and blueberry juice

My daughter even took her cup and placed it back on the counter and walked away. Ouch.

Well, not every smoothie can be delicious... but they can all be healthy.... gross or not :-P

A Parsnip for your thoughts?

I had never tasted a parsnip before. I guess they just don't fit into our holiday meals or everyday stir-fries. I picked them up at the grocery store because they looked so pretty (like white carrots) and were all-alone on the end of the aisle.

I took a bite of a raw one and it tastes like a bland carrot. It's definitely something I could snack on with dip and could mash with potatoes. It is bland enough to take on the flavors of the fruit it is blended with and has a lot of fiber to make for a fun night ;-)

I blended...

Ice

Frozen sliced pineapple

1 frozen banana

1 orange

1 raw peeled parsnip

Splash of green tea and pineapple juice

It is delicious and the parsnip cannot be tasted at all (pineapple is so strong it masks almost anything).

Enjoy!

PS -A note from my daughter who is patiently sitting my lap: lrrf,.fghjkrde.W?Qaassddfffgghjkil;;;;;'

Paper beats Rock. Ice cream beats smoothies.

I had the best of intentions of making a creative smoothie tonight.... But as I write this it's 71 degrees outside and the best ice cream place is now open.... Ice Cream beats smoothies.... today!

Monkey Mix

This smoothie is for my little monkey. She always tastes whatever creation I make and I appreciate that :-) I wanted to make something she would truly love and consider an extra sweet treat!

I blended...

Ice

5 mini bananas (or 2 big ones)

2 tablespoons natural peanut butter

1 tablespoon honey

4 oz Stoneyfield vanilla probiotic yogurt

Organic milk to blend

It looks and tastes like ice cream because it's so thick! My husband claims this is the best smoothie yet - probably because it's the most dessert-like and least healthy with no veggies :-P

I hope a lot of monkeys can enjoy this!

Everything But The Kitchen Sink

I spend a lot of money on produce every week. I am not complaining just stating this so you'll understand why I refuse to throw any of it out. As the week comes to an end and I have to grocery shop again I either stir-fry it up, freeze it for future smoothies or throw it all in the blender with everything else that is lingering in the fridge. Tonight, I threw everything in the blender and drank down a lot of produce.

I blended...

Frozen green grapes

Frozen raspberries

Frozen blueberries

Frozen zucchini

1/2 of a squeezed lime

1 peeled plum

1 mini banana

Collard greens

Baby Spinach

Green Tea

Splash of cranberry juice

So good! I am impressed that everything meshed so well together. My daughter drank all of hers and helped me with mine. We all got our "5-a-day plus" in one big glass :-D and I didn't have to throw anything out!

Now my fridge is available for all the new things I can bring home to experiment with next week!

The Papaya Situation

My creative juices are not flowing right now. I couldn't think of a smoothie idea so I took my daughter to the grocery store and let her pick a new ingredient. It was a toss up between papaya and star fruit but she chose the larger of the two (and probably because the papaya resembles a ball). Papaya!

I came home and skinned the fruit, scooped the seeds and froze the inside fruit (which by the way is not a lot!) 

I blended...

Ice

1 skinned, diced and frozen papaya

2 skinned and raw kiwis

1/2 squeezed lime

1/2 cup frozen green grapes

1 banana

1 cup raw baby spinach

Cold brewed green tea

You mostly taste the banana but it is really delicious!

I'm happy with her papaya choice - it feels so exotic, like if I close my eyes I'll be on the beach somewhere warm instead of "Still Snowy in Maine"

Here's to papaya!

(Thanks to my SIL in for the backgrounds! Now my pictures can be snazzy ;-)

Tres Jolie

Driving home from a wonderful dinner with beautiful friends I saw the license plate "trejoli". In French "Très jolie" means very nice or very pretty. How appropriate :-) It was a very pretty day and a very nice weekend filled with relaxation and happy times!

New smoothie coming tomorrow!

That is all :-) Have a good night.

Twilight the Smoothie

To honor my new love of Twilight I will be sitting down (well, laying down!) to watch New Moon and Eclipse tonight! How could I not?? I can't just leave Edward and Bella dancing at the prom wondering what happened to them! I made a blood red concoction to honor my favorite vampire (I guess that means I am Team Edward :-)

I blended:

Ice

1 cup frozen strawberries

1/2 cup frozen raspberries

1 diced plum

1 diced medium raw beet

3 big collard green leaves

Cold brewed green tea

Splash of pomegranate juice

This is a VERY red smoothie and I think delicious... I lost my sense of taste and smell being congested so I have to base the end result on my daughter drinking all of hers and trying to drink mine, as well as my husband drinking all of his! I could feel there was extra graininess, which must be the plum. I think next time I would skip the plum and try a blood orange!

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